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NOVUS AND THISTLEY HOUGH ACADEMY WIN BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY'S EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP AWARD

13 JULY, 2018

Thistley Hough Academy and Stoke-headquartered Novus Property Solutions have won the national Education Partnership accolade at the Business in the Community Responsible Business Awards 2018.
The organisations were recognised in the Small Business category for their five-year strategic partnership to enhance employability in the region. The work is part of Novus’ Business Class initiative, which sees the firm partner with local schools across the country to give pupils skills to help make them ready for the working world.
The award was presented to Novus and Thistley Hough Academy at a ceremony, organised by The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, on Wednesday, 3rd July at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Winners of the other categories on the evening included Barclays, engineer Arup, Aviva and Nestle.
Business in the Community – The Prince’s Responsible Business Network - is a business-led membership organisation made up of progressive businesses of all sizes that seeks to encourage social, environmental and economic sustainability. Its annual Responsible Business awards programme celebrates the best work done by organisations in supporting social value in their communities.
Kevin Rhone, head of social value and customer service at Novus, said:
“Our Business Class initiative is one of many ways we’re reinvesting in the communities where we work. Across the country, we have a range of CSR projects and initiatives that are having a demonstrable impact on peoples’ lives.
“Construction is witnessing a huge skills shortage. And that’s not just in terms of trades, we need people will excellent soft skills too and this is something we’ve always been keen to support. Winning the Business in the Community accolade is a fantastic result given its national prestige.”
Thistley Hough Academy Principal Holly Hartley says:
“Our school had faced a number of challenges and so, when approached by Novus I was very keen to be involved in the scheme. From the outset our partnership with Novus has had a significant and tangible impact on life at the Academy and is founded on trust and integrity and so it has been easy to engage, despite our significant operational differences.
She continues:
“Novus is now a daily part of life for us providing both our staff and students with inspiring opportunities – from mentoring pupils, to offering support in high-level Public Finance Initiative meetings, to the development of a new school allotment, or by working with students on employability-based skill sessions.”
Across the duration of the initiative, thanks to the support of Novus, the Academy has been graded some ‘Outstanding’ features by Ofsted. Similarly, the partnership has resulted in direct commercial benefits for Novus including new relationships across the local education sector, helping it to win more than £5 million worth of construction work.
For more information about Thistley Hough Academy visit thistleyhoughacademy.org.uk or call 01782 883500 and for more information about the Business in the Community Awards log on to awards.bitc.org.uk.

WE'VE BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR A CONSTRUCTION ENQUIRER AWARD

18 AUGUST, 2017

We’re very proud to announce that we’ve been nominated in this year’s Construction Enquirer Awards.
The Construction Enquirer Awards are designed to recognise the industry’s best companies to work for and the best firms to do business with so we’re thrilled to have made the shortlist for this prestigious accolade.
We have been nominated in the ‘Best Main Contractor To Work For’ category, which reflects our commitment to offering the best training and support to all of our employees as part of our drive to create a happy, motivated workforce.
We’re proud of our fully inclusive approach to training, from supporting our new young apprentices to providing placements for students and offering continued training to existing staff to ensure they reach their full potential.
The winner is decided by public vote online.
Online voting closes on Friday 21st July with the top ten companies in each category revealed the following week.
The winners in each category will be announced at the Construction Enquirer Awards event held at the Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 10th October during UK Construction Week.

WE'VE BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS

10 AUGUST, 2017

We've been selected as a finalist in the Corporate Responsibility Scheme of the Year category of the 2017 Construction Investing in Talent Awards.
Now in its second year and brought to you by Construction News, these awards are about rewarding individuals and teams who work so hard to attract and retain the best talent.
We've been recognised for our ambitious Changing Lives scheme, which has seen us invest hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds to help improve the communities in which we operate.
The scheme is part of our company-wide commitment to corporate and social responsibility - something which is integral to the business and as such is embraced by staff across the business.
Construction News editor Tom Fitzpatrick said: “Our shortlisted companies are overcoming Brexit uncertainty by striving to attract and retain the best talent in the UK construction industry.
“Each company is going further than ever before to make construction an inclusive industry and pushing the boundaries on their outreach initiatives, recruitment and as the best places to work.
“Our expert judges from the worlds of construction, retail, government and transport will now have the difficult task of choosing this year’s winners.”
The winners will be announced at a glamorous awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on 15 November.

WE'VE BEEN ANNOUNCED AS NATIONAL BUSINESS AWARDS FINALISTS

25 JULY, 2017

We have been shortlisted for The Lloyds Bank Positive Social Impact Award for the 2017 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards.
Our chairman Stuart Seddon said: “At Novus, we work hard to have a positive impact on our employees’ lives and on the communities in which we work, so it is very satisfying to have this work acknowledged by such a prestigious awards body. Being shortlisted in the National Business Awards is an achievement in itself and we’re very proud to be named as a finalist.”
The finalists were chosen from the hundreds of businesses that entered or were nominated across 18 award categories. They will now prepare for live presentations to an expert judging panel who will decide the overall winners.
Continuing the celebration of Best of British Ambition, this year’s prestigious award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 14th November 2017, at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, where the winners will be revealed.
Conor McGinn MP recently hosted a reception for the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards at the House of Commons. This enabled finalists to meet fellow entrants, the National Business Awards Advisory Board members, judges (who they will present to in September) and sponsors of each category.
Tom Broughton, Group Brand Director of the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards said: “Given the economic uncertainty over the past year, it is inspiring more than ever to see British businesses prosper. Through a thorough and comprehensive judging process, this year’s selected finalists demonstrate exceptional quality and diversity across a range of business sectors within the UK. We are now looking forward to the next step of the process and meeting some of the finalists face-to-face.”